Hour 4

As Alex looked out over the dismembered bodies and newly dissected squirrel, he asked, "If that question mark is our objective, how are we supposed to get close?" Emi replied, "I'm not sure, but at least we seem to be safe here. We can try to think of something." She scanned the ground next to them and found a couple of rocks packed into the earth at the base of a bush. She placed Conner's shotgun down and picked the rocks out of their resting places before examining the area again. With a calculated aim she started throwing them towards the floating question mark with quick underhanded tosses. She used the body parts strewn about the area to approximate where she should test, and each rock she threw was instantly vaporized with a flash of light and a wisp of burning grass, but some seemed to make it further than others. To her surprise, the final rock she hurled at it sailed effortlessly through the air and landed next to the question mark, somehow avoiding the fate of the others. "Interesting," Emi thought to herself. Then she shook her head in mild disgust as she thought, "No, there isn't anything interesting about this, the hell is wrong with me?" Both Alex and Emi heard an engine roar to life from the parking area opposite where they had entered. Suddenly an SUV was tearing through the field towards the question mark. With each bump it hit in the grassy terrain, it jumped and clanged as its heavy frame rocked in a way that was definitely not good for the suspension. When it hit the perimeter of the bodies, it was sliced down the middle in a vicious diagonal line and came to an anticlimactic stop as both halves fell outward, and the person inside was left to fall in opposite directions as well. Alex stammered as defeat took over his voice, "N-no em, this is impossible!" Emi thought to herself, "There has to be a way through this. if this is a game, then there definitely has to be some kind of win condition." She continued thinking, "So far, our phones have been a major part of this game. They display our remaining time and now have given us a map and a store... But none of the items in that store seemed useful for this scenario even though they were just introduced to us... Were they a red herring? A trick to distract us?" She was quiet for a second before she asked Alex for her phone back. He returned it to her, and she started swiping away at its screen. "What're you doing, em?" Alex asked with genuine confusion in his tone. Emi said, "I just had an idea. I'm curious if it'll work." She engaged the video recording function of her phone and brought it up to eye level. "Gotcha," she said under her breath with a thin veil of satisfaction. Through her phone's camera, she could see what was invisible to their eyes: a shiny metallic sphere hovered in the air high above the 3D white question mark, which sent down a rotating array of lights. She picked up another rock and threw it at one of the moving beams, which, as expected, caused it to explode on impact and burn some of the grass. Emi thought, "So that's why we aren't seeing the lasers burning the ground constantly, which would've given them away. The lights are always active and moving, but as long as nothing solid passes through them they're harmless. The second something touches them, though, they activate." Alex was watching over her shoulder now and exclaimed, "I get it! We just have to avoid those things! Much easier when you can see them." He looked at her and asked, "What made you think to try that? Your phone's video, I mean?" Emi shrugged and replied, "Honestly, it was just a guess. I thought of how our phones had been at the center of all this so far and how you used our Bluetooth in the car to your advantage. If the video didn't work, I was going to try other functions as well, like taking pictures or audio recordings for any hidden clues only our phones might be able to reveal." Alex looked at her in honest awe and said, "You're pretty smart, em." Emi laughed, the first real laugh she'd had since all this began. "You are, too. You gave me the idea. We're a good team." Alex said, "I guess we are." Emi smiled and replied, "Let's go." She picked the shotgun back up, and they both started forward.

Even though Alex was still on his first objective he was able to use his phone to see the lasers, a useful stroke of luck. With the help of both their devices, they navigated the deadly maze of light. As they did, Alex asked, "Wait, I just thought of something." "Yeah?" Emi asked as she tried to remain on full alert through the web of lasers that continued to move in erratic intervals. He said, "If I follow you through multiple phases without completing my first..." He stopped for a second as if to gather the courage to continue the idea before he said, "What if it's breaking the rules? What if I die?" She comforted him, "I don't think you have to worry about that. You just downloaded a link I got in phase 2, and you're fine." She shook her phone as she said, "Besides, there were tons of question marks all around us. We won't run out of them as an option for you to continue even if I'm further ahead." As they neared the center of the laser grid, which housed the question mark, Alex asked, "But what if all the marks are different challenges? I could be taken off guard thinking it's just like this one and... And..." Emi replied, "You're worrying too much again. The objective was called laser tag, remember? Even if it isn't exactly the same you're not in this alone, I'll help you." She patted him on the shoulder. "Besides, I'm going to beat this sick game before you have to kill anyone and make it to phase 2." They were now standing in the center of the laser field, which spiraled all around them from above. Emi asked, "Ready?" To which Alex answered, "Yeah." Emi touched the question mark, and suddenly, they were falling. A black hole had opened up beneath their feet, and besides the darkness around them, all Emi could see was her brother clinging to her right arm for dear life, and the opening they had fallen from growing smaller and smaller. She used all her strength to hold onto her brother with her right arm and maintain the grip on the shotgun in her left as their backpacks flapped wildly in the wind and the opening they had fallen from vanished, encasing them in black.

Emi and Alex suddenly found themselves standing in a room and the unexpected transition from free failing to standing caused their muscles to cramp. The shock was so great it caused Alex to fall hard on his butt and Emi to take a knee. She stood back up as she took note of the room they were in which was small and painted with a muted grey hue. A single dim light hung from the decrepit ceiling and there were simple flat features that jutted out of the walls to act as benches upon which sat a few groups of people. All of them were staring at Emi and Alex.